Yae
by Iridescent Hope
Summary: Yet another one by me! A short vingette from Yae's POV


AN: My second Fatal Frame story! Aren't you proud of me? This is a little vingette about Yae. It might seem like it's a little rushed at the end, and I apologize for that… but hey, I'm not perfect. And why am I the only one writing Fatal Frame stories? Huh? ::grumbles::

The camera sat on the table, a small blemish in the perfect room. Pausing a moment in my task, I stared at it curiously. I had seen my daughter with it many times, but never once had I questioned the existence of it. Never once had I asked her where she had gotten it from and now, when I finally began to wonder, she was gone, lost deep in the woods. 

Walking over to the table, I bent down and picked up the small camera, turning and moving it around carefully it my hands. I knew that I had never gotten her anything like this, and I doubted that Ryozo would have either. He was so absorbed in solving the mystery of this mansion, I'm not even sure he noticed that his daughter was missing…

I shook my head to clear my mind of such thoughts. It wasn't lady-like to think poorly of my husband. He tried his hardest to take care of us; who was I to begrudge him the freedom to do what he wants? Who was I to worry him by telling him of the disappearance of his only child? No, it was my duty to watch of this child, and to protect her. Not to lose her. And not only her, I lost her friends as well. Funny that Mikoto had a camera, and yet none of her friends showed any interest in photography.

Once again, my thoughts turned back to the camera. Why did my daughter have it? And where did she get it from? Deciding that now was not the time to start prying into her business, I placed that photo back on the table and turned to leave the room when the photos caught my eye.

She must have taken them, I decided, picking them up. There were photos of me and of her friends. One of Ryozo, and even a picture of herself. Smiling briefly, I wondered how she had managed to do that. Did she get a friend to take the picture? And who was that little girl wearing the white kimono…?

"Kirie…"

"Who?" I looked around the room, eyes wide. "Who's there? And who's Kirie?"

There was no response to my questions. Shaking my head, I decided that it was only in my mind that I had heard the voice. Ryozo was up in the library, trying to find any information on this 'Blinding Ritual' and the 'Reflection Mask', whatever they were. And Mikoto was gone… gone from playing Demon Tag. A game she only knew because of my husband's research. So wasn't Ryozo to blame for all of this? Shouldn't I tell him that he lost my daughter? That he should go find her?

I sighed and hung my head. I was stressed. That was why I was having these thoughts. It wasn't Ryozo's fault; it was my own. I let them out of sight. I shouldn't have. I was the one that needed to find them.

… but what about that girl in the white kimono?

My thoughts turned back to her, though I'm not sure why. I glanced at the pictures again, noticing how in all of them there was the same girl. In most of the pictures she was standing off in the corner, watching the children. Or watching the person taking the picture. In the one with my daughters, however, she was standing next to her, smiling. Yet I knew that there was no child around here that looked like that. Who was she?

"Kirie…!"

"What?" I backed up slightly, holding the camera to my chest. "Who is there? I heard you once before. You said the same thing. _Who is there?_" With a sudden burst of inspiration, I raised the camera. "I'll take a picture. Then I'll have proof that you're here. So you might as well show yourself." I waited a moment and, after there had been no response to my statement, I pressed down on the shutter of the camera.

A bright flash filled the room, and a picture came out of the camera. Sighing at the fact that my plot had failed, I picked the picture up from the floor. Idly I glanced at it, expecting to see nothing more than the door in front of me.

Except… there was a woman there. A woman with long black hair that obscured her eyes. She was wearing a kimono, a white one, similar to the one in the pictures with my daughter. But there had been no woman in front of me when I had taken the picture! Hands shaking, I raised the camera again and looked through the viewfinder.

"Kirie…" I heard the same cold, distant voice again. To my horror, the faint outline of a figure began to appear before my eyes, the outline of the woman in the picture. Pressing down on the shutter again, I closed my eyes. This really wasn't happening. I'm just imagining that I can see that woman. That… that… ghost?

The picture proved me wrong, again. She was there. Glaring at me with such an intense look of hate… what had I done? I was only trying to find my daughter! I was only here with my husband! Why was she angry with me? I had done nothing!

~~~

I knelt down on the tree branch, staring down at the ground below. It hadn't seemed to far when I had decided to do this. Hadn't seemed like such a bad idea. But it had been three days now… Mikoto was still missing… and I couldn't stand it. Those… those poor people! Dying such horrible ways. Because the ritual failed… and she wanted me out! I couldn't stand it! Kirie…

Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, I jumped…

~~~

"Yae! Yae, I've figured it out! I now know what everything was meant for!" Excited, Ryozo rushed outside to tell his wife the good news.

And froze.

She was hanging from the tree, a dull, blank look in her eyes. In her hand was a piece of paper and, below her feet was the camera, shining oddly in the pale moonlight. 

"Yae… Why did you do this?"


End file.
